


The Street Where You Live

by greenkangaroo



Series: My Fair Madara, or, Chouji The Genius Wrangler [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Clan Politics, F/M, Gen, M/M, Post War, Soulmate AU, Starting Over, actions have consequences, clan ocs, prominent ocs, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2018-12-12 04:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11729718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenkangaroo/pseuds/greenkangaroo
Summary: Sequel to My Fair Madara. In the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi War, Madara and Chouji do their best to forge ahead, hang on to their tenuous bond, and understand their place in a changing world.





	1. home is where your brother isn't

**Author's Note:**

> I'm baaaccccckkk. 
> 
> Okay folks here's the skinny. I don't think this fic will have a linear plot like My Fair Madara did- rather it's going to be a series of shorts connected by place, characters, and timeline. If there's things you want addressed, hit me up on tumblr under greenekangaroo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: we talk about losing dogs here, folks. It's really quick and nothing is depicted but still, death of animals.

The Akimichi Compound had been Chouga's pride and joy. He'd designed it himself, and in all aspects it had been catered to and centered around his clan- the culture of it, its jutsus, the broad physical and mental characteristics of its members. From wood infused with chakra to better stretch in case of full-body baikas to the seven gardens within the compound's walls and three without, the stronghold of the Akimichi was a happy place, a strong place, a place of peace. Even after Pein's invasion, when large swaths of Konoha were leveled to rubble, Chouga's handiwork remained almost entirely intact.

Madara walked through the gate a free(ish) man and felt every tight thing within him ease, just a little bit. 

"It hasn't changed," he said to Chouji. 

"We took some damage during Pein's invasion, but." Chouji looked around. "We did okay. A lot better than some people. The Inuzuka lost an entire generation of pups." Chouji's words were salted with grief. The kennels had been hard-hit and the Inuzuka were still feeling the pinch of losing some of their best breeding pairs. Kiba had been inconsolable for a solid two weeks- Akamaru's first fathered litter had been amongst the casualties. 

"There is a lot of work to do." Madara agreed. 

"Not for you." Chouji said sharply. "Not yet." 

Madara's chuckle was rough. "You can't keep everything at bay." 

"Not everything, no." Chouji said. "But once you sit down this is gonna hit you so let's get somewhere quiet?" 

"Where is somewhere quiet?" Madara asked, curious. "If I remember there isn't a single place in this whole compound that could be considered quiet." 

"My brother agreed to vacate his house for a little bit." Chouji said, leading Madara down a side path along the wall. "At least until, you know. Everything is ironed out." 

"I didn't know you had a brother." Madara said. 

"We're saving that face to face meeting for like. A month. Okay? Maybe six months. Maybe a year." 

"How charming. Am I going to be subjected to threats of being crushed to jam?" 

"No, not- it's complicated, okay?" 

"I'll accept that." Madara said. 

Chouji made a turn through one of the wall's gates and led Madara down a forested path. Here and there were cracked trees, open clearings where damage had been extensive and not yet addressed by the natural order. 

"This is new." Madara acknowledged as they passed numerous smaller dwellings. 

"There's sections in this forest for young couples, single ninja. People who like quiet." Chouji said. 

"Your brother likes quiet?" 

"More than most people," Chouji said. "Here we are." 

It was a small house set back from the path. Madara gave it an approving nod. It was easily defensible, had a clear line of sight out all four sides. It was one level with limited entryways and exits with big windows that had deceptively complicated opening mechanisms. 

"Home sweet- well. Whatever." Chouji said. 

He led Madara inside, gave him a short tour. There wasn't much to see. The house had a bathroom, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a multipurpose living area. 

"Your brother isn't much of an interior decorator." Madara noted. The house was tastefully painted and filled with various ninja paraphernalia but notably bare of many personalized touches. 

"Chouichi is allergic to knickknacks." Chouji said. "Sit down. Has it hit you yet?" 

"You're talking like I'm going to lose my mind and try to destroy Konoha." Madara said. 

"You'd better not or I am going missing nin and moving to Suna." Chouji said. "Madara-" he cut himself off and sank down onto the couch. 

"It isn't so bad, Chouji." Madara said, sitting beside him. "It's better than I expected, honestly." 

"Not the point." Chouji said hoarsely. "Not-" he laced his fingers together, rested his forehead on his joined hands. "It was always so _important_ to you." 

"That importance rather went up in smoke." Madara said. "No doubt Obito and Sasuke will find a better use for the name than I did." 

"You're acting calm and you're not calm." Chouji accused him. Madara shrugged. "I'm working on it." He said. 

"And then there's-" Chouji made a vague gesture at Madara's chest, at the newly applied seal hidden beneath his clothes. 

"Even this isn't as bad as it could have been." Madara said. "Hashirama's granddaughter is quite skillful. Honestly I expected more burning if anything." 

"Stop being so blase you're making me feel like a nut." Chouji said. 

Madara rose an eyebrow. "Of the two of us, I think I rather have the better track record for- nuttiness." 

"He's making jokes now." Chouji muttered. "God of Shinobi genius got kicked out of his clan had his chakra locked to match mine and he's making jokes." 

"If we can't laugh, we can't react to a lot of life." Madara said. "Your ancestor taught me that." He looked around. "So, where are the chaperones? I note we didn't meet anyone on the way here..." 

"They know better than to stick their noses in right now." Chouji said.

"If there is one thing your Clan does not know, it is when to keep their noses out of anything." Madara replied. He lifted his swirl-marked palm. "Case in point." 

"Okay that's not my fault," Chouji protested. 

"Prove it." Madara said. 

"I asked Chicho to keep the way clear." Chouji admitted. "Just, you know. To not overwhelm you." 

"What makes you think I would be overwhelmed?" Madara asked. 

"I've seen Sasuke run from crowds." Chouji said. 

"I am not Sasuke." 

"No, you have more hair." 

Madara snorted. "Chicho- he's the chaperone?" 

"Can we not discuss chaperones?" Chouji asked. 

"What do you want to discuss?" 

"How about you internalizing the fact that you just traded a fan for the shoku and had your wings clipped?!" Chouji asked. 

Madara sighed. 

"It's hardly a fraction of what I deserve," He said. "Besides. Your father offered sanctuary." 

"My father offered sanctuary because if he didn't he knows I'd walk out of here and take everyone between the ages of ten and thirty with me." Chouji said. 

Madara whistled. "You'd cause a clan schism for me? It must be love." 

"It's something." Chouji said. "Akimichi Madara. It doesn't- sound _right._ " 

"No," Madara said. "It doesn't. Not yet." He leaned back. "Maybe I'll take a nap." 

"I need to cook something." Chouji muttered. 

"You do that." Madara said. Chouji left him sitting on the couch and headed for the kitchen. As the sounds of pots, pans and knives ribboned through the house, Madara Akimichi- who had been Madara Uchiha until the Trial he'd just come from- closed his eyes and hoped he would have good dreams. 

He knew he likely wouldn't, but that was fine. 

He had a lot of nights ahead of him.


	2. it could be worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whatever happened to ~~Peggy Sue~~ Obito?

It could be worse. 

Obito told himself that a lot, in the days after the war. It could be worse. 

Counting bodies. It could be worse. 

Attending meetings where he could see Onoki and Mei trying to kill him with their minds. It could be worse. 

Having the world's most awkward clan meeting with Sasuke and Madara. It could be worse. 

Getting poked and prodded by Tsunade, Sakura, and a plethora of other medic nins determined to crack his zetsu-grown half. It could be worse. 

Finding his name on the memorial stone, rubbed almost smooth from years of Kakashi's thumb brushing over it. It could be worse. 

Telling his teacher as he disappeared in a shaft of golden light to please, please, apologize to Rin for me. I don't want to make her wait, but I think I have to. Tell Kushina I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm sorry. 

It could be worse. 

Obito thought he'd gotten off relatively easy. Like Madara his chakra had been sealed, and like Madara he was confined to Konoha. Unlike Madara there seemed to be a 'for the time being' hooked to the end of that 'confined to Konoha', which Obito thought has a lot to do with the fact that Kakashi had looked Tsunade right in her face and started rattling off all the rules regarding Konoha ninja who had been mentally compromised in the line of duty and how they were to be handled once returned home. 

Rules Tsunade herself had written, rules that she'd thrown an absolute fit about when she found they were not being followed in the wake of Minato's first death and Hiruzen's second rise to power. 

Keeping a recovering ninja in solitary confinement was not on the table. If Madara was allowed to go- albeit under the deceptively lax gaze of the Akimichi- then Obito had to be allowed to go, too. Since the Uchiha compound was undergoing renovations (and the current Clan head was, to put it mildly, unenthused about having other Uchiha near him) Kakashi had offered his home as a temporary solution. He had been summarily shot down by all three of Konoha's main councils. Kakashi needed just as much recovery as Obito. Besides that their old friendship and Kakashi's complex regarding Obito's death and return did not a reliable babysitter make. 

Obito had agreed with the council and he was vocal about it. Kakashi had created a life and he deserved to keep living it. So someone else had to be chosen. 

Kakashi had been unhappy about Obito not being in his corner, and in true Bakashi fashion, he'd made it clear the best way he knew how. 

"GOOOOOD MORNING!!" 

It could be worse, Obito reminded himself as he blinked into the entirely-too-bright sunlight streaming through his window. His window HAD been covered by nice thick blackout curtains, but those had been pushed to the side to let the treacherous daystar inflict itself upon him. 

Gai _liked_ waking up. 

"Morning," Obito greeted as Gai pulled new clothes out of his dresser. "What are we doing today?" 

"Extensions on the Academy!" Gai told Obito. "To better suit the new curriculums. Come on, we have a visitor. Breakfast is almost done!" 

A visitor?

Obito reached out, sensing downstairs. Sure enough there was a person in the kitchen, not a chakra signature he recognized well so not one of the ANBU that not so subtly followed wherever he went. Another of his former classmates? Anko had been dropping by unannounced. Once she'd brought Ibiki, who had brought cupcakes. Coconut and lime. He'd made them once before, for Obito's birthday when they were in the Academy and he hadn't yet been Ibiki the Torturer. He'd just been Ibiki the baker's kid like Obito had been Just Another Uchiha. 

Obito had checked them all for poison, Gai had straight up stuffed one into his mouth. The conversation had been stilted but at least it had flowed well and nobody had gone for throats. 

They were still damn good cupcakes. 

Obito climbed out of bed and thought about the day's tasks. 

Konoha was not going to let him slack off. Though his Wood Release was not as powerful as Yamato's, it was still very handy. Since being released from the hospital and into Gai's care he'd been helping rebuild houses, public works buildings, restaurants, anything that Pein's invasion had wiped out and had yet to be rebuilt. It was grunt work most of the time but Obito kept his mouth sealed firmly shut. After all, the invasion was his fault, too. 

So many things were his fault. 

Something hit him in the forehead- a shirt. "Hey!" He yelped. 

"Breakfast," Gai repeated, and disappeared down the stairs. 

Obito sighed and dragged himself out of bed. "Bakashi, your taste in men sucks," he muttered to himself as he dressed. Gai was just so- obnoxiously effervescent and, and perceptive. He _knew_ too much. Gai had been like that when they were kids too but Obito had never really noticed, too busy trying to overcome a genius years younger than him, make Rin notice him, prove to himself he was worth his dream of becoming Hokage. 

God what a stupid, pointless dream. 

Obito could almost hear Madara as he finished getting dressed. _It isn't pointless. So long as it exists, it Is._

It truly had to be a new world, if reasonable advice was dispensed by a madman. 

Obito headed to the bathroom across the hall to brush his teeth. While he flossed he tried some cognitive awareness exercises his therapist had asked him to practice. They weren't great but they helped pull his brain out of the endless spiral of 'what if', cleared out the fog from his darker dreams and reset him for the day. 

There wasn't a thing to be done about his hair, really, and Obito gave up after brushing through it. He stuck a hitaiate in his pocket and headed downstairs. Technically, Obito was still a Konoha ninja. He was never declared a missing nin because he'd been killed in action and all the records regarding missing nin had been casualties of Pein's invasion. Regardless, Obito couldn't quite bring himself to wear the leaf symbol. It meant too much and at the same time was a bitter reminder of what the village had always pretended to be. 

Gai's apartment- their apartment?- had a lot of windows and downstairs was already bright. The potted plants on the windowsills were freshly watered and Obito could smell coffee. Trust Kakashi to fall in love with a morning person when he couldn't even get out of bed before noon. Naruto had told Obito some stories. Naruto would talk to Obito any chance he could get, trying to work his magic, trying to get the village to accept him. 

Maybe it was working. Obito hadn't had an attempt made on his life yet. 

He entered the kitchen at the tail end of a soft conversation and the lull was intimately comfortable. He looked at the visitor. Obito recognized him from the days immediately after the war as one of the many paperwork-ninja who had kept everything running smoothly, or as smoothly as could be managed. He had long brown hair and had a scar- a very neat cut- running across his nose. He was wearing a chunin vest. 

"Obito, this is Umino Iruka," Gai said as he put rice in bowls. 

Iruka's smile seemed genuine or was the most masterful fake Obito had ever seen. "Hello!" 

"Hello," Obito responded cautiously. No, he definitely hadn't graduated with this man, he'd remember someone with a scar like that. They did seem close in age. Maybe Iruka had been a few years after? Perhaps he was Kakashi's age and had graduated at a reasonable time instead of being pushed onto the field due to extenuating genius-related circumstances. 

Iruka was- cute. 

"Iruka is an Academy teacher," Gai told Obito as he layered up the bowls. "He's been tasked with planning the extensions on the buildings." 

"I still don't see why they tapped me," Iruka told Gai. "There are plenty of engineers and architects who could do better." 

"Ah but they do not teach!" Gai exclaimed. "How would they know what our Most Youthful ninja need?" 

"True," Iruka admitted. "I'm sorry to swing by so early but I wanted to speak with both of you about today. Particularly you, Obito, about your capabilities regarding this design." 

He turned a piece of blueprint paper and walked the two men through it as they ate. It was clear he was enthusiastic about the project, had taken the job of designing the Academy's extension very seriously. Knowing he lacked the technical expertise needed to excuse his vision Iruka had consulted with more experienced architects and builders before deciding on the final form. This completed design was what they would start work on. 

Obito ate and Gai ate and Iruka didn't look at the Uchiha sidelong or flare his chakra defensively or do anything else but answer Gai's rapidfire questions until breakfast was over and he had wrapped up. 

"As you can see it requires a lot of wooden beams that curve but retain their strength, which means chakra infusion," Iruka said. "Yamato assured me this was possible between the two of you but with your chakra capped I wanted to be sure you felt you could meet the requirements without being overtaxed." 

Obito examined the papers one more time. 

"I think I'll be fine," he says. "I can regulate my chakraflow with Yamato to turn out more if you need them." 

Iruka smiled. "That's good to hear. The schedule on this is pretty stringent. I tried to argue for more time but the longer the kids are out the more they're going to lose and I'll have to start the school year all over again in the middle of spring." 

"And we can't have that," Gai responded, flashing a thumbs up with a bright grin. Iruka squinted at him for a moment. 

"Don't you think for a moment I'm going to let you overtax yourself either, Gai," Iruka said. It was such a Teacher voice that Obito could feel his back straightening in his chair. Gai held up his hands placatingly. "I will not overdo it, Iruka, I promise. If I do I will do one thousand-" he saw the look on Iruka's face and finished, "-good deep breaths as I return home for a proper rest." 

Iruka sniffed and nodded. "I'll see you both at the Academy, then. We're getting a squad of Akimichi for heavy lifting so lunch is guaranteed to be good." 

Gai laughed and Obito snorted and Iruka was escorted to the door. 

"He was...something," Obito said when Gai shut the door. Gai smiled fondly. "Yes," he said, "he is." 

Obito stared at Gai. "Oh my god you two fucked." he said in delight 

Gai blinked in alarm. "I really-" 

"Does Bakashi know?" Obito pressed.

"I- yes it happened long before my Dear Rival and I decided to embark on our journey." 

"Oooohh did he get jealous? I remember Bakashi jealous it's the funniest thing." 

"Now I wouldn't say that-" 

Obito teased Gai all the way out the door and down the street. He delighted in the shade of red he made the other man turn. In the warm sun he could almost ignore all the looks he was getting as they walked through a reviving village. The air was scented with flowers and sawdust the closer they got to the Academy and there was Iruka. He'd lost the chunin vest and tied his hair up a little higher, had a hammer in his hand and was already pointing. 

Yeah, he was cute. 

Yamato waved from his position near a pile of unfinished logs. Obito grabbed his gear from the foreman and headed over. 

Okay. 

It could be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're thinking to yourself 'but Obito caused Kurama to rampage and that killed Iruka's parents, what about that?' just. 
> 
> Hang on to that thought.
> 
> Ibiki the Cupcake Man is not a new fanon and didn't originate with me.


End file.
